Recent Paintings

Here are some paintings I've been working on lately. I hope you enjoy them! If you are interested in purchasing the original or a print, please contact me or click on my etsy shop link.

"Caspar," Barn Owl 8x10 acrylic on canvas

Hummingbird, 8x10 acrylic on canvas

Sea Otter, 12x16 acrylic on canvas

Kitten Painting

I started this sleeping kitten painting with a pencil drawing on canvas, and painted all the lines and shadows in black.

 Next, I filled in the base colors, using mostly darks but saving the white areas on the face for last. The brushstrokes are swirly, vague, and messy at this point, and it feels like this painting is going places! The next steps, such as filling in the details of light and shadow, fine hairs, whiskers, the delicate pink nose, and feathery background texture, are more nerve-wracking because I am a perfectionist. I have to push hard at this point to get through to the end instead of being too afraid to continue. The great thing about acrylics and oils are that you can "mess up" over and over and just keep layering paint. I just haven't gotten that into my controlling, perfectionistic head yet!

The final painting, "Sleeping Kitten," available for sale on etsy.com!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/sallybarone

Seascape Step-by-Step

 I took on an oil painting yesterday--a little daunting, since I've been mainly working in acrylics for the past year or so. I'd forgotten how much I love oil paints--their creamy texture, moveability on the canvas, and forgiveness (I can smudge out mistakes so much easier, layer and blend so much more freely than with acrylics). Sigh... :)

 I started with a blue background and filled in the darks and lights. The seafoam is typically white but in my photo reference it was blue because of the shadows.

 I loved how creamy and "watery" this paint was as I blended the waves! It has a glow of its own.

 Here I started to add some highlights on the waves--reflections from the sun behind the clouds.

The finished seascape. I went over the little clouds in front of the sun again late last night and lightened them up; there seemed to be too much contrast, and they were a little distracting.

Thanks for viewing!

Painting in Progress

 This is an 11x14 acrylic painting on canvas of one of my favorite birds, a lilac breasted roller. It is native to Africa, and I first saw a real one when I was sixteen in Zambia. They are beautiful, but also really cute! I love the colors of the plumage.

Step 1: Sketch the subject in pencil over a blue background, and outline in black paint.

 Step 2: Begin painting in the darkest darks.

 Step 3: Continue to lay the base colors. I try to use a darker shade of the color I will use at the end, or one that is completely different which will make the top color "pop" (contrast).

 Step 4: Using short brush strokes with a small brush, I give the plumage depth by laying in middle values and starting to paint in details, like the highlight of the eye and beak. Many of the colors I lighten by using white (such as the "lilac" color on the bird's breast), but white should not be overused or the painting will take on a washed-out or pastel look, which is not what I'm going for.

 Step 5: Fill in the background. I can get pretty crazy at this point, trying to figure out what colors I want to use that will show off the subject best. Sometimes I regret covering up my original color, : ( but usually everything works out all right in the end! : )

 Step 6: Here's where I get really excited that everything is coming together--I pull the highlights on the head with quick, light strokes, dab feathery brush strokes on the belly and start working on the feet, which were difficult to paint.

The final painting. I was satisfied with the bird, but the background seemed lacking. My husband suggested some more leaves, and I really think this adds a lot to the painting by creating the environment that the bird lives in. Rather than detracting from the central focus, the branches and leaves balance out the composition and draw the eye inward.

Thanks for taking the time to view my work in progress! If you are interested in purchasing this original painting, please visit sallybarone on etsy.com. 

Finished Leopard Painting

The finished painting.

Progress of a Leopard Painting

This post shows the progress of my leopard painting from start to finish.

A cropped version of my reference photo. I took several pictures of this leopard in the Menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, France. Isn't he gorgeous?

After scrubbing sap green paint onto the canvas with an old brush, I rubbed charcoal on the back of a black-and-white printout of my reference photo and transferred it to the canvas by tracing with a pencil. Then I went over all the lines and spots in black.

I went over the sap green with a wash of phthalo blue and got this amazing emerald/aqua color! I was really tempted to leave everything the way it was and call it a finished painting--I just think the colors are amazing at this point!

The leopard started to "come to life" as I deepened the colors and filled in the shadows of the underpainting.

I started adding touches of burnt sienna to the spots, blue-grey to the eye, and blue to the shadow on the hair of the leopard's neck.

The background was experimental...I really liked the contrast here and, after laboring for so long on the rocks and trees, I can honestly say I wish I'd kept it abstract!

After my decision to go for a more "realistic" background...

The leopard is just about finished, but I'm still working on the rocks, tree and leaves of the background.

Any critiques? Suggestions? Post me a note!

I hope you enjoyed this demonstration!

Owl, 8x10 acrylic on canvas

Owl, 8x10 acrylic on canvas. For sale on etsy.

This is a painting of a barred owl on a wintry day that I started a couple of years ago. I lost the reference photo I was using, and completed all but the eyes and the red berries! As you can imagine, it felt good to finally finish the picture! It's now available for sale at www.etsy.com/shop/sallybarone.